Four more Armagh City Centre heritage buildings have been restored as part of a major heritage-led regeneration programme. The Armagh City Townscape Heritage project has invested £2.9 million to bring four historic buildings back into sustainable use with ground level retail and commercial spaces and modern living accommodation on the upper levels.
Councillor Kevin Savage, Chair of the Economic Development and Regeneration Committee said:
“This is a fantastic transformation that has brought vibrancy to this part of the city, with a major works to these vacant and derelict properties. I’m delighted to see the works come to fruition and the many benefits it brings with new businesses already accommodating city centre retail space and increasing footfall to our urban centres.
Dr Sally Montgomery, Northern Ireland Committee Member at The National Lottery Heritage Fund commented:
“Thanks to National Lottery players we have been able to invest in several Townscape Heritage projects in the area and have made a further commitment over the next ten years to invest in the Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon Borough Council area through our Heritage Places initiative.
A part of the Armagh City Townscape heritage scheme, a talk will be delivered on Wednesday 6th December at 7pm in Armagh County Museum. Sean Barden, Curator of the Museum will provide an overview of Armagh’s large number of datestones.
This is a free talk delivered as part of the Armagh Townscape Heritage Scheme which is funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund and ABC Council. To book a place please email: ciara.macneice@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk
One of Armagh’s most historic buildings has risen from the ashes thanks to the multi-million-pound Armagh Townscape Heritage scheme – a partnership project supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and building owners.
After being destroyed in a fire over 60 years ago transformative work began in 2021 to rebuild and restore the famous terraced No. 1 Seven House which dates back to the 1770s. The building now stands tall with two stunning apartments and an office space which is now the new home to CPS Property.
Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Alderman Margaret Tinsley, said:
“I’m delighted to see the completion of this historic building and many other buildings across the city as part of the £6.3m heritage regeneration investment project. Historic buildings are part of Armagh’s fabric and I’m thrilled with the progress being made restoring and reviving their beauty.”
Sally Montgomery, Northern Ireland Committee Member at The National Lottery Heritage Fund commented:
“Investing in heritage means investing in the community it belongs to, which is why we are proud to support Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council to restore and regenerate many of the City’s historic buildings and provide an activity programme to increase engagement with heritage through the Townscape Heritage Initiative.”
Owner of No. 1 Seven House on Upper English Street, Colin McKee said:
“It has been fantastic to see the work over the past few years, reconstructing the building from the ground up. We now have two great apartments and an office space in the heart of the city. A special thanks to Armagh Townscape Heritage Scheme, a wonderful heritage-led-initiative that has supported this property, and many others across the city, restoring and preserving historic buildings for many years to come.”
As one of the oldest cities in Ireland, Armagh is famous for its Georgian façades and listed buildings which are instrumental in giving Armagh its distinctive, unique and historical feel. To date seven projects have been completed across the city, with four properties in progress at Upper English Street, and more set to begin later this year.
Another iconic part of Armagh’s history, restored by support from the Armagh Townscape Heritage Scheme was Armagh’s Golden Teapot.
The Teapot was originated by James Irwin, in 1870, and he used it to attract customers to his family grocery store and café on Scotch Street. It remained there for over a century until it was unfortunately damaged by an articulated-lorry in the 1990s.
It was gifted to and cared for by the Armagh County Museum in climate-controlled storage until recent years. As part of the Armagh Townscape Heritage Scheme, the teapot has been repaired and restored, and has now checked in as a long-stay guest of the Charlemont Arms Hotel on Upper English Street.
Philip Smith, Building Historian delivered a wonderful talk last evening in Armagh County Museum. Over 40 people attended and learnt about the different sources of online and offline information that are available for researching the social history of old buildings. We learnt about the rich sources of online and offline research such as the John Rocque Map of 1760, HED Historic Map Viewer, Valuation Revision Books, Street Directories, PRONI and various Newspaper Archives etc. A very successful evening with a captive audience who came away skilled to do their own social history research.
This workshop was delivered as part of the Armagh City Townscape Heritage scheme Armagh City Townscape Heritage scheme which is funded by @National Lottery Heritage Fund, ABC Council.
Philip Smith, building historian delivered a great talk in the Armagh Robinson Library in June 2023 on how Armagh City’s buildings have been influenced by different architectural styles, Georgian, Victorian and even Italian.
Many thanks to all who attended. The workshop was delivered as part of the Armagh City Townscape Heritage scheme which is funded by National Lottery heritage Fund and ABC Council.
Armagh’s Golden Teapot is once again gracing the city’s streets and is already turning heads after been installed on the exterior of the Charlemont Arts Hotel Armagh.
The Teapot was originated by James Irwin, in 1870, and he used it to attract customers to his family grocery store and café on Scotch Street. It remained there for over a century until it was unfortunately damaged by an articulated-lorry in the 1990s.
It was gifted then to the Armagh County Museum and had been in climate-controlled storage until recent years, when it was decided it should once again put in a long overdue public appearance.
Thanks to the Armagh City Townscape Heritage Scheme, the teapot has been restored, and has now checked in as a long-stay guest of the popular Lower English Street hotel. An interpretation panel is on the exterior wall where more detail is available on the teapot’s history.
Talk – 20th June 2023 – ‘Armagh’s Buildings – what their architectural detail can tell us of their history’.
Armagh City Townscape Heritage Scheme are hosting a free talk on Tuesday 20th June 2023 at 7pm in the Robinson Library Armagh.
The talk will be delivered by Philip Smith, Building Historian and the theme will be ‘Armagh’s Buildings – what their architectural detail can tell us of their history’.
Interested in researching a particular building in Armagh? This recorded video from April 2023 shows a wide range of historical sources and in-print material to discover the history behind the stone and mortar. The video highlights some key contacts and underused websites that may be of interest to those researching buildings and people in Armagh
A very informative social history talk was delivered on 20th April in the Robinson library Armagh. Attendees learnt about the various online and offline information sources available to research old buildings and their occupants through time such as Valuation revision books, Historic Map Viewer, Irish census, sources available at PRONI, Robinson Library, Irish Local studies library and Armagh County Museum.
Ulster Architectural Heritage facilitated this workshop and it was delivered as part of the Armagh City Townscape heritage scheme and funded by ABC Council and National Lottery heritage fund NI.
Come along to this free workshop entitled ‘Windows to the Past – Researching Armagh’s Buildings and occupants’ on 20th April 2023 at 7.00PM in the Robinson library Armagh. To book a place please register on the following site Window to the past – Researching Armagh’s buildings and occupants – UAH (ulsterarchitecturalheritage.org.uk).
This event is delivered as part of the Armagh City Townscape Heritage Scheme and is jointly funded by ABC Council and National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland.
www.armaghcityth.com
Restoration work has commenced on 18 & 20 Upper English Street Armagh. Built in the early 19th Century the buildings have had various uses throughout this period mostly incorporating a mix of shops and accommodation. Business types have included a Boot and Shoe merchant, a Bookseller, Printer, Publisher (as seen in the Black and white image on this board) and a Cake Shop.
The project will involve complete conservation and restoration of these two derelict properties which when restored will include 2 retail units on ground floor and 9 units of residential accommodation occupying the Upper floors of both buildings.
This project is made possible with funding from Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, private funding and National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland.
A big thank you to Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt of the Ulster Historical Foundation for facilitating a 5-week genealogy course focusing on how to research Armagh and Lurgan ancestors who emigrated around the world.
Over the last 5 weeks we were joined by a series of international guest speakers, including Chris Paton, Dave Millar, Melanie McLennan and Dr Perry McInytre, who delivered a series of high quality, informative and enjoyable talks providing an insight into the sources available to research ancestors who emigrated to Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia. We are very grateful to them for their contributions.
Also thanks to the 150 people who registered and attended the course from around the world; we hope the series proved useful – Wednesday evenings will not be quite the same now!
This course was supported through the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme and Armagh City Townscape Heritage Scheme; initiatives funded by the Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council and Lottery Players through the National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland; and the Friends of Shankill Graveyard.
We are very lucky in Armagh City to have so many listed buildings. As part of the TH Scheme, we wanted to create a number of Walking trails for tourists and locals alike. They are available in hard copy from Armagh County Museum, Navan Fort, Robinson Library, Hotels but are also available to view in the Resources section of this website.
The 5 week RSUA Advanced Conservation Course has commenced in Armagh City. Week two of the course was held in Armagh County Club, one of the buildings which has been restored as part of the Armagh City Townscape Heritage Scheme. Over 24 participants learnt about the importance of maintaining old buildings to ensure that penetrating and rising damp do not become a problem. We were given a tour of No 1 Seven Houses which has been rebuilt and Armagh County Club Armagh County Club and two other properties. Many thanks to all speakers; Moss Construction, Jonathan Todd Ballymullan Architect BMA, Sean Barden Armagh County Museum and Joseph Birt of FRSNI.
The course is been delivered as part of the Armagh City Townscape heritage scheme, a major building restoration scheme in Armagh. Armagh City TH is made possible with funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund, Armagh Banbridge Craigavon Borough Council and private sector monies.
Armagh City Townscape Heritage in partnership with Ulster architectural heritage ran a great maintenance workshop last week. Over 25 people came and heard presentations from Jonathan Todd of Ballymullan Architect regarding the importance of internal and external maintenance of old buildings. Another speaker Dr John Butler presented on his experience living in an old Georgian house on the Mall in Armagh.
We then had the privilege of visiting 2 buildings in Armagh city which have benefited from the Armagh City TH scheme, 33 and 43 upper English st. The Workshop was made possible with funding from ABC Council and National Lottery heritage fund Northern Ireland. #Heritagefund
